


Lost Sheikah Legends

by face78



Series: Lost Sheikah Legends [1]
Category: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-23 12:32:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/926467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/face78/pseuds/face78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of untold Sheikah myths from the various Zelda universes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Creation of the World

**Author's Note:**

> This was written long before Skyward Sword came out, so I know that it kind of conflicts with canon but, frankly, I still like my version better so here it is. ;)

This is a lost Sheikah legend…

When time was just beginning, after Din had created the red earth and Nayru had gifted it with the spirit of law, Farore gave pause before creating the inhabitants of the world that was yet new. "Sisters, if we are to bring life to this world, should we not also give to these errant beings guidance so that they do not turn away from us?" said she.

"The spirit of the law has already descended upon this earth and its inhabitants shall know it well, for I have seen fit to fill it with my wisdom," contested Nayru.

But Farore's fears for her children were not quieted. "But should they choose to disregard your gift, should we not leave them a way to once again find the path we have set them upon?"

"Should they have the arrogance to ignore our Sister's gift and stray from the ways we have intended for them, I shall raze them to the earth and they shall know our will by their suffering," thundered Din.

However, Farore was still unwilling to leave her children to such a fate and replied, "As we have given them the spirit of the law to prevent them from destroying themselves, should we not also give them something further to prevent the need for their destruction at our hands?"

In her wisdom, Nayru, though she believed Farore's fears unnecessary, decided to compromise with her Sister and said, "Though I believe my gift to be sufficient, I see you are not to be swayed, Sister. Perhaps if you told us what it is that you desire for them so fiercely we could be persuaded to bestow upon them but one more gift."

"I do not insult your gift, Sister Nayru; I am only afraid that by sharing with them my soul so that they may have life, my wildness of spirit shall also be given unto my creations and they may rebel against their makers. They are but finite beings and may not understand such divinity as I contain."

"And what would you give them to help prevent them from straying?" demanded Din.

"I shall create a chosen people to rule over this land and they shall have uncommon ears so that they might better hear our messages."

This was the origin of the Hylians.

"And should this chosen people be led astray by false messages?" asked Nayru.

"To prevent my chosen people from being led astray I shall create a race to be their guardians and guides; and to them I shall give eyes that see the truth so that they may wisely counsel my chosen people should they make their ears deaf to us."

This was the origin of the Sheikah.

"Your plan is wise, Sister Farore, and your compassion for these beings has so moved me that I will help you guide them. I will give to the first queen of your chosen people as much wisdom as befits a ruler of this blessed land we have created, and her descendants shall pass her wisdom down throughout the royal line, and she shall be my champion in this world to ensure that the spirit of the law is upheld," said Nayru.

"Sisters, do not forget to temper your mercy with justice. I will agree to your plan, but you must promise me that should your creations become arrogant and forget those who created and sustain them, you will let me punish them as they deserve. If Nayru is to have a champion, then I, too, shall have one; and he shall come from a race of fierce warriors and bring my wrath upon the world when it has turned too far from us," said Din.

"Then I shall also create a champion for myself and should he triumph over yours, Sister Din, then it will prove that there is yet hope for my children and you must hold your wrath until the next time you find that my creations have made themselves unworthy of our gifts," said Farore.

"You would give them too many chances, Sister, but out of the love I bear for you I will let you give them this last protection. Their fates will be in their own hands once we return to the heavens," said Din.

"But you have yet work to do, dear Sister. Should we quarrel so much over that which has not yet been given life? Create these children for whom you are already interceding!" said Nayru, laughing.

So Farore poured out her rich soul and gave life to all the creatures of the world. When she had finished she saw that her children would contain all the wildness and complexity of her own soul, but without the divine capacity to keep their souls in harmony it would surely manifest imperfectly. And so she created last of all a race of beings to whom she gave an infinitesimal fraction of her power and bade them do the goddesses' will and prepare the world for the champions who would come. These beings understood the goddesses' will best and were sent away to begin their work in each of the realms that were destined to play some part in the cosmic drama involving the champions. Then the three golden goddesses, having finished their work, returned to the heavens, leaving behind the Triforce at the place where they left the world.

But that is a story for another day…


	2. Majora and the Fierce Deity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jonah is not an OC- I tried to hint at who he was with the first line and I figure most of you will read into the subtext about his identity with no problem, but I just wanted to clarify that Jonah is meant to be a person from LOZ canon whose backstory and name I filled in with my own ideas. Kudos to HylianDan, too, whose Zelda theory about stone tower temple ended up fitting perfectly with my own headcanons about Majora's Mask! His article's an interesting read and can be found here: articles/the-stone-tower-why-termina-was-doomed/

Long ago, in the land of Lunayru, there lived a man (if, indeed, he could be called a man) of strange powers who dearly loved to bring happiness to people. This man, Jonah, knew the Truth of the golden goddesses and existed only to do their will. However, after many eons of serving the goddesses in Lunayru, he began to resent his kin, for he was jealous of the one who lived in the blessed land of Hyrule while he was forced to live far from that favored land of the goddesses.

Many more eons passed and evil slowly grew in Jonah's heart, for he was no longer satisfied with the role he played in the goddesses' plans and wished to return to Hyrule. So Jonah, although he knew the Truth of the goddesses, made a plan to rebel against them. Over many years he slowly spread doubt to the hearts of all those in Lunayru and they lost faith in the goddesses who had created them. Instead of worshipping the three golden goddesses above all others, they began to worship as the greatest of all deities the four guardian giants of Lunayru, who had long ago disappeared to the four corners of the earth in order to protect the land. The people of Lunayru built great temples to the four giants and told new myths about the giants' greatness, saying that the giants had created Lunayru instead of the three golden goddesses.

Eventually the people became so faithful to the four giants that they believed them superior to the three golden goddesses and grew arrogant enough to blaspheme them most vilely. Jonah, who had been spreading doubt in the goddesses from the shadows all of these years, finally emerged, manipulating the religion of the Four as a prophet and commanding the people to build a great tower that would reach the heavens so that they might defeat the goddesses using the power of the giants and prove their superiority. So the people built a great stone tower that reached into the heavens under Jonah's orders, not knowing that he was planning to use the tower to open a path in the heavens that would return him to Hyrule.

The goddesses were grieved at Jonah's treachery and the faithlessness of the people and decided to punish them. Din, with her great, flaming arms created the light arrows, filled with the light of justice, and shot one into the bloodstained emblem at the entrance of the tower, inverting it so that instead of reaching the heavens it now reached the pits of hell where an ancient evil awaited the people. The people, not knowing what awaited them, entered the temple with Jonah leading them. Inside, they discovered a mask of great and terrible power, and, thinking they had reached the heavens, thought they had discovered a way to make themselves as gods. The people began to fight over who should wield the powers of the god and much blood was shed over the evil mask.

In the end, Jonah, whose arrogance had grown and who had decided that he would rather become a god himself than serve the goddesses any longer, put on the mask and used its powers to make the people serve him. The evil in the mask was called Majora and it whispered its name to Jonah to take for himself, for the evil in the mask quickly became one with the evil in Jonah's heart. The people were afraid and served Majora as he asked, changing their temples to reflect Majora's image and worshipping the ancient evil. Jonah, satisfied that he was no longer a servant and was now a god, wished to follow the golden goddesses into the heavens and remain there for eternity; but the mask had an evil will of its own and had been feeding off of the jealousy and anger in Jonah's heart to grow stronger. Soon Majora grew strong enough to break its seal, and so it cast off Jonah to wreak mayhem throughout Lunayru.

The days grew dark and all was chaos throughout the land as Majora spread madness and slaughter with its evil power. The people were afraid and called out to the four giants, but the giants could not hear, for the goddesses had put them to sleep and made their ears deaf to the calls of the Lunayruns. Yet the people did not repent, for their hearts had been hardened through the years of faithlessness, and so the goddesses continued to let Majora ravage the land. One day, just as the people were about to give in to despair, a wandering mercenary of tremendous skill appeared, having heard of their plight. The mercenary offered to defeat the evil Majora as a test of his skills, for he was a man who delighted only in battle.

The battle raged for three days without cease, and on the morning of the fourth day the mercenary finally emerged from the battle victorious. The beaten demon was sealed once again into the mask and the people rejoiced. They were grateful to the mercenary and, having learned nothing, began to worship him as a god. The prideful and mischievous mercenary accepted their praise as his due and lived for a time reaping the benefits and abusing the privileges of his godhood. But the goddesses saw the people's blasphemy and grew angry; so they sealed the arrogant usurper's soul into a mask- where he was doomed to wait powerlessly for eternity for his lust for combat to be fulfilled only by another's hands.

Yet despite the sealing of the mighty and fierce deity, the land of Lunayru continued to grow rife with faithlessness and petty squabbling. So grieved were the goddesses at their people's continual waywardness that they despaired of them ever returning to the Truth and turned away from that land, which became known as Termina- for it was doomed to end. And yet there was still one small hope: whispers that some day one from the blessed land would come to Termina and redeem that cursed land….

But that is another story….


	3. Bongo Bongo

This is an ancient Sheikah legend…

Long ago, in the days before the Hero of Time in the town of Kakariko, there lived a man named Bongo-Bongo. Bongo-Bongo was a rich man who had everything one could ask for, yet he was unhappy because his greedy heart was never satisfied, even with all his wealth and power. And so the lonely miser grew greedy for the one thing that he could never have due to his cruel nature: the love of the wise and beautiful owner of the potions shop, Anjea.

Bongo-Bongo tried to catch her attention every way he knew how: he flaunted his wealth and bragged about his power and made everyone in the town miserable with his preening, but still she would pay him no attention. He visited her shop every day, paying her compliments and giving her extravagant gifts, but Anjea saw through his flattery and dismissed his false vows of love as if they were no more than cucco feathers in the wind, saying, "I am to you as one of the many jewels you brag of, something beautiful to be looked at and hoarded jealously. If you were to win me you would only be satisfied a moment before looking for more lovely jewels. Such a fleeting love is not meant for a woman of flesh and blood, it could only satisfy a cold and useless rock."

But the more she refused him the more he lusted after her, and as his frustration with her grew, so did his cruelty towards others. Bongo-Bongo continued to pursue her and when he asked again for her hand in marriage, she answered "I see the true self that you try to hide from me in the way you treat others, and I know well that the true measure of a man is how he treats those from whom he has nothing to gain." Stinging from her continued rejections, Bongo-Bongo's impatience soon turned to anger, and with his great wealth he bought every building in the town, threatening to close her shop and evict her family should she refuse him. But still she would not give in, and shaming him with her mocking reply, said "If this is the love you offer I'd rather have your eternal scorn, just as you have mine."

Unable to earn her love with his cruel tactics, Bongo-Bongo decided to go to her with a clever ruse. He went to her and offered her all of his money and power if only she would marry him, convinced that she would not want to marry a penniless man but would be so moved by his feigned sacrifice that she would agree to marry him without making him keep his promise. But the wise woman saw through his empty words and told him that, although she had no need for his wealth, he should return when he had given all of it to the poor and then they would be married. Bongo-Bongo anguished for many days over what to do; torn between his love of money and his love for Anjea. However, in the end he could not part with his beloved riches and returned to her shop in despair. He begged her to tell him why she would not marry him, to which she replied simply, "Do not come to me again until you understand the truth about yourself; then you will know why I cannot marry you as you are."

Priding himself on his wealth and power, yet blind to the evil in his heart, he could not understand her words and, his pride hurt, he grew desperate to learn the reason behind her constant refusals. Bongo-Bongo knew of the Sheikah treasure that gave one the ability to see the truth, and so he formed a plan to steal the treasure and use it to see the truth about himself that Anjea insisted he was ignorant of. So under the cover of night Bongo-Bongo snuck into the place where the treasure was hidden and stole it. The next morning, the Sheikah discovered the theft and, furious at the loss of their treasure, searched high and low for the thief, but Bongo-Bongo had already fled to the Water Temple to complete his plan.

In those days it was well known that in the Water Temple there was a chamber of trials which only the Zora royalty were allowed to enter. None but the Zora royalty knew what was in the chamber, and each king and queen went in only once in order to be tested before ascending to the throne. The only clue to what lay inside was given in the inscription outside the chamber which read:

"Within you find the Deepest Pool,

It is not kind, nor suffers Fools

Succeed and earn the right to Rule

But should you fail thy fate be Cruel

Prepare well, Ruler:

For 'tis within Thyself you duel."

Most of the Zora royals emerged worn but unscathed after many days of struggle with whatever lay within the chamber, but some emerged changed and were killed so that their reign would not bring destruction to the Zoras. Bongo-Bongo's obsession with what Anjea's words meant had so twisted his heart that, having heard the rumors of this chamber, he waited until nightfall, killed the temple guards, and snuck into the sacred chamber.

Inside he found a long reflecting pool and, using the stolen Eye of Truth, gazed deep within it. With the Eye of Truth he saw the darkness in his heart in its true form and was appalled, for it took the form of a great and terrible beast which began to attack him with a greedy fervor for blood. He struggled briefly with the beast but soon succumbed, and was transformed into the form of his evil. By now the dead guards had been discovered and many Zora warriors had gathered outside the door to await the emergence of the one who had defiled their temple. When the horrible beast emerged, full of rage and malice, a great battle ensued. The Zora warriors fought bravely but, unable to kill the beast, they were sacrificed to its terrible wrath and it escaped.

Seeking revenge upon Anjea, who he blamed for his transformation, Bongo-Bongo returned to Kakariko Village and went on a rampage, slaughtering any in his path. The townspeople fled and, after a fierce battle with the Sheikah warriors led by the Great Sage Impa, the creature was subdued and Bongo-Bongo was executed for his many crimes. There was a brief time of peace, but the hatred and vengeance that drove Bongo-Bongo's spirit would not let him rest, and misfortune soon befell Kakariko in the form of drought and plague and the mysterious restless dead. Fires sprang up from nowhere, and all in Kakariko became afraid of the shadows which writhed and spread and sometimes devoured as though they were alive.

Finally, the Great Sage Impa went down into the Temple of the Dead to put an end to the hauntings of the beast and with her great power and magic she sealed its restless spirit deep within the well where Bongo-Bongo's house once stood. And there his restless spirit waits, his hatred ever growing in the darkness of his prison…

The ills wrought by the spirit ceased and all was well in Kakariko, though the Sheikah's treasure was never recovered. Some say that Anjea, regretful at what had befallen Bongo-Bongo because of her words and fearing the evil that the Eye of Truth could work again in the wrong hands, hid the treasure somewhere in Kakariko Village. But that is nothing more than the whisperings of Gossip Stones…


	4. Twinrova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of sex in this chapter- nothing explicit- but if you're uncomfortable with that then don't read ahead. Also, if anyone can guess what book I took the inspiration for this myth from I will write them a 500 word drabble about the topic of their choice. It'll probably be hard to guess considering it's mostly vague parallels so if you can guess it then you definitely deserve a reward!

This is an ancient Sheikah legend…

Long ago, in the days before the Hero of Time, there lived a great Gerudo king who, although well into his ninety-fifth year, had not yet married. Though he still had many years of life left and still appeared young and strong (for as was well-known then, Gerudo men lived to far greater ages than Gerudo women, or indeed, most any other race), it was time that he begin to look for a wife amongst his people. The king began his search and, though there were many strong warriors to choose from, the king soon fell in love with a powerful and clever sorceress. She was as a cool drink of water in the desert to him, and they soon married. The queen, being one of a set of twins, agreed on the condition that the king let her sister come and live with them in the palace. The king agreed and gave her sister a position as magician to the royal household, for she, too, was a powerful sorceress, and they all lived happily for a time. But soon the presence of the queen's sister grew to disturb the king's heart; for although he loved his clever and beautiful wife, her mind was like ice, and he longed for the passion of her fiery sister to warm him.

One day, while the queen was out, the king went to her sister and seduced her into his bed. Having experienced the heat of her flame, he once again longed for the coolness of his wife but could not bear to choose between the two. The king waited in dread for the queen's return. He was certain that when she returned her sister would tell her what had passed between them; for the sisters had a bond with each other that surpassed all others as they were of the same flesh and like two halves of the same soul.

So the king spent the day in agony over the fury he was certain would come. Would she curse him? Would she freeze his heart solid? Or perhaps he would burn in her sister's flames while she looked on. However, by the day's end, the queen had said nothing of his transgression to him and seemed her usual self, so the king thought to himself, "Why should I choose between them? The one is content to say nothing, and I am content to enjoy both the heat of the desert and the cool of the oasis."

For many months, things remained as they had been, but for the addition of the king's many visits to his queen's sister. One day, the lovers were lying in bed when she said to him, "Since I am now the lover of a king, should I not dress as finely as a queen?" but the king was afraid that his wife would find something suspicious in her behavior and asked her not to change her dress. She only laughed at his wariness and said "I will tell my sister that I wish to start dressing in a manner befitting of my stature and she will dress me as richly as a queen herself!"

And so it was: the queen gave her sister clothes from her own wardrobe and they were indistinguishable from each other in body. The only way the king could tell them apart was by their characters, which were still as different from each other as fire and ice. Still, the king grew nervous; afraid that he would one day mistake his queen for her sister and so reveal his infidelity. He decided to be cautious and no longer called either one by name in moments of passion, out of fear that he might call them by the wrong one.

As time went on, the king grew afraid that the queen had noticed that he no longer called her by name when they were together and became convinced that she knew of the affair. He acted colder towards his lover, hoping it would abate any suspicion on the queen's part, but this made his lover angry and she demanded that he stop sleeping with her sister or she would go to her and tell her everything.

Having now two lovers to hide his infidelities from, the king grew cold towards both of the sisters and was always wary of being too attentive to one, lest the other discover his secret. As his fears grew, his love-making grew furious as he searched every inch of the sisters' bodies for a way to tell them apart. When he could not find a difference, he began to try and mark them visibly, ferociously biting and scratching in the hopes that he could tell them apart that way, but the marks always faded quickly from their tough, desert skin and he would be left once again with no way to tell them apart; for not only did the sisters now look exactly alike, they also were beginning to seem alike in character. His fiery lover grew cold towards him and the temper of his cool and collected queen began to shine through more often, until they truly seemed one in both body and soul.

They grew so alike that the king could no longer tell them apart and the uncertainty of which sister was which drove him half mad. Their chill was no longer like a cool drink of water in the desert to him, but instead was as deadly as the breath of a freezard, and their heat was no longer like that of a fire on a cold desert night, but was as searing as the flames from a dodongo's belly. Desperate for a way of telling them apart permanently, he began to have sinister thoughts: a lantern full of hot oil tipping over, a training session with their scimitars gone awry, or perhaps an accident in the chamber where the sisters brewed their potions.

Thus, when the sisters came to him saying that, as sorceresses, they wished to make a pilgrimage to the Spirit Temple in order to learn the secrets of magic, he was relieved to have respite from the tension he lived with daily. He granted them permission to go, and though he yearned for them both each day of the half-year they were gone (all the while knowing he would still not be able to give either of them up when they returned), he also relished his brief release from the tyranny of his secrets.

When the sisters finally returned, the king's heart grew glad even in its misery, but his shock was great when he saw them approaching, for one of the sisters was carrying a baby boy! The child could only be his due to the timing and the resemblance, but he did not know which sister was the mother, for neither had shown any sign that they were with child in the days before leaving. His shock quickly turned to shame, though, for his infidelity was now plain no matter which of the sisters had had the child, and he was afraid to face them. Yet even though his shame was great, he could not help but also feel a twinge of pleasure when he realized that he would now be able to tell the sisters apart, since the mother would surely be the one to care for the child.

The king welcomed the sisters warmly and was overcome with joy that he could proclaim his son heir to the throne, but did not ask who the mother was, for he was too cowardly to admit to his shame openly. When neither woman confronted him about his infidelity, the king began to hope that they had forgiven him and, assuming that the queen (he knew her to be his wife only because her sister had called her by name when they entered the palace), who was holding the child, was the mother, he commanded that a nursery be prepared in their chambers: to which the queen replied, "Oh great king, as is tradition, the raising of the child is to be left to the women- I will stay with the child in my sister's apartments so that we may raise him fine and strong." The king, knowing that it was, indeed, tradition that the raising of a Gerudo child be always left to the mother and whichever women she chose, could not protest, but was disappointed that he hadn't discovered the truth of the child's mother.

With the arrival of the child the king saw very little of the sisters, and now that they shared chambers, whenever he came upon one of them he had no way of knowing which sister he was speaking to. When he attempted to romance either one, they would have none of it unless he could call them by name. When he could not do so, their fury was terrible and they made him feel both the icy sting of hurt pride and the burning heat of intense shame. If ever they came to him in his chambers anymore it was only to toy with him, for they played cruel tricks, making him beg to know which one they were even as they pretended to be the other. Yet still he loved them, his guilt and the child binding him to them even as he began to fear and resent them.

The king did not see much of his son for the first 5 years of his life, as was customary. By the time the child was old enough to begin to know his father, the king had already been driven half crazy with the need to know which sister was which and thought the child the key to knowing the secret. He told his son that if he could discover which of the sisters was his mother he would give to him anything he wanted.

But the prince did not understand what the king meant, for he knew only that he had two mothers and could not understand why the king believed he only had one. When he asked his mothers why the king did not believe him and why he always claimed to be his father, his mothers told him that the king was an evil man who wanted to take him away from them and raise him as his own son since he had none.

Every day, the king asked the boy if he had discovered who his mother was, and when the boy couldn't answer he punished him harshly. His mothers comforted him and tried to keep him away from the king, growing fiercely angry whenever the child and his father were near each other. They taught their son magic and bade him practice with the warriors to learn how to defend himself from the king, in case he should he try to harm him again.

Slowly, however, the king grew more insane due to the sisters' cruel and unceasing mind games and his son's inability to discover the identity of his mother. He began to suspect the child of plotting with the sisters; suspecting that they had told him long ago which one was which and that he was withholding the information deliberately so as to torment him. So one day when his son could once again not answer his question, he lunged for the boy, threatening to kill him. Frightened for his life, the prince fought the king fiercely, but the old man was stronger and began to strangle him. The prince, desperate to live, grabbed a piece of glass from a mirror that had been broken in the struggle and stabbed his father deep in the heart.

Having heard their son's cries, the sisters rushed in and found him covered in the king's blood and trembling fiercely. The queen and her sister approached the dying king, who lay on the floor, gasping for air and begging them to tell him which of them was the child's mother. The sisters smiled a terrible smile and whispered in each of the king's ears, as one, "Oh great king, can you not tell? His mother is the one he most takes after." Upon hearing this the king died, a look of horror and sorrow frozen on his face.

With the king dead, his son succeeded him and that is how, in the days before the Hero of Time, the young prince Ganondorf came to rule over the Gerudo with his two most trusted advisers, Koume and Kotake, at his side.


	5. The Great Flood

This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…

Long ago, in the days after the Hero of Time departed from Hyrule, his labor finished, an evil wind began to blow throughout the land. The ancient sages listened to the whispers on the wind and knew that their seal upon the King of Evil was weakening, so they gathered together to decide what could be done to save Hyrule.

"The Hero of Time will surely come to our aid in this most dire hour! With my brother's help we will triumph even should the evil king return!" cried the Sage of Fire.

"How like him to be late! Perhaps this time instead of waiting for him we should seek him out?" said the Sage of Water.

"But where could he have gone? The creatures of the forest all say they have not seen him…" said the Sage of Forest.

"Do not worry, little one. He is not yet among the dead. Perhaps the princess knows where he is?" said the Sage of Shadow.

"Aw, forget him! Let's just do this ourselves! We're all-powerful sages now, aren't we?" said the Sage of Spirit.

"I believe that the Princess Zelda would know best the Hero of Time's whereabouts, let us consult her," said the Sage of Light.

So the Sages went to find the Princess Zelda, who, having heard the whispers of evil on the wind, was gathering her people together to prepare them for the journey she had seen them taking in her visions. When the sages told her of their search for the Hero of Time, the Princess grew grave and told them that she did not think he would be returning to the land of Hyrule and that they must prepare the people for their journey to the mountaintops.

So the sages returned to their domains to spread the word throughout the land: "Prepare for the rains."

The Sage of Forest, Saria, returned to her people and spoke to them. But the Kokiri were dismayed to hear that they must flee, for they could not leave the forest. So they cried out to the Great Deku Tree saying "Save us, Father! Save us from the rains!"

The Great Deku Tree heard his children's cries and began to grow swiftly. He soon grew taller than all the other trees of the forest; then, so tall he touched the very clouds in the sky. At last, the Great Deku Tree grew so tall that even the birds of the sky could no longer nest in his canopy, for he had grown taller than the mountains themselves. The children tried to climb his branches, but he had grown so tall that they could not reach the top and grew tired. The children cried, thinking their father had abandoned them and, sorrowful that they could not escape the rains with him, they cried themselves to sleep among their father's roots.

But the Great Deku Tree had not forgotten his children, and in their sleep he took them unto himself so that they became part of him. In the morning, strange seed pods hung from the Great Deku Tree's branches. For many months the seeds hung there safely- sheltered from the battering rain and the raging floods by his great leaves.

When at last the rain stopped, the seeds fell from his great branches and the Kokiri woke safely in a new world, bearing new forms which were light as air and better suited to such a world. The Kokiri rejoiced and, floating on the wind, played among their father's branches! All except the Sage of Wind, who had stayed behind to pray for the Master Sword.

When the Sage of Fire approached his people to tell them to prepare for the coming rains they were pleased, for they already lived high in the mountains and would be safe from the floods. But, nevertheless, Darunia feared for them because they were heavy as stones and could not swim, so he cautioned them to stay far from the water's edge. When the rains began many foolhardy Gorons who had not heeded his warnings drowned and were swept away by the strong currents. So together the Gorons began to build many ships and learn the ways of seafaring so that they could live and prosper even among the dangerous waters. When the floods finally stopped, the remaining Gorons were well-prepared and prospered in the new world as seafaring merchants.

When the Sage of Water returned to the Zoras to tell them of the news they laughed and said "What have we to fear from floods?" and went about their lives. But Princess Ruto impressed upon her people that the waters that were coming would not be like the pristine waters of Lake Hylia and could spell disaster for them. When the rains began and the lakes began to merge with the seas, many Zoras died, unaware that the salty ocean water was as deadly as poison to their delicate gills.

So he of the cavernous belly, Jabu-Jabu, took them into his wide mouth where they stayed until the floods had passed. When the Zoras looked out upon the new world they cried out in despair at the vast ocean that now engulfed the land, for they could not live in such salty waters.

"Surely we will perish in this sea of death!" they lamented, wailing their sorrow to the heavens.

So loud were their cries that even the great dragon, Valoo, heard them from his mountain perch and flew down to them, saying "Why does water's kin lament so? Are you not made glad that this world is so well suited to your form?"

"O great dragon, we will surely perish in these salty waters! For we can only live in the purest of waters and Lake Hylia is no more! If only we could fly like you, great dragon! Then we could live above these treacherous waters as the people of the land do!"

The great dragon thought a moment, then gave to each of them a scale from his hide, saying as he did so "Take this gift, people of the water, and be changed so that you may continue to prosper even amidst this poisonous sea!"

When the Zoras took hold of the scales they were changed into new, winged forms. Able to fly on the winds now, they took to the sky with the great Valoo's blessing and followed him to his mountaintop home, where they, too, roosted among the cliffs. And thusly were the Zoras saved from destruction; all save the Sage of Earth, who had stayed behind to pray for the Master Sword.

When the Sage of Shadow returned to her people she commanded them to climb to the top of Death Mountain, where they joined the Gorons in learning the arts of seafaring and joined in building boats. When the rains came all were spared except for those who had made themselves deaf to Impa's warnings and refused to move. Those who survived spread amongst the islands like leaves on the wind, and thusly did they name their town "Windfall" when all was settled.

When the Sage of Spirit returned to the Gerudo to warn them of the coming rains they scorned her, laughing and saying, "Who could conceive of such a rain? We are people of the desert and know better than to believe in the fortunes of water witches. Should it rain so we will rejoice and merely drink the desert dry again!"

When the rains came the Gerudo set out their barrels and collected the precious water, not fearing the floods and expecting the rain to end soon as it always had before. When the rains still did not stop after many days, the desert was quick to flood. Many fled, seeking shelter outside of the desert, but the wise followed Nabooru and headed for the Desert Colossus, where they built boats atop the Goddess of the Sand's outstretched palms. When the flood waters finally reached them they were well-prepared and lived to see the waters rise, engulfing even the Desert Colossus. The few wise Gerudo who had survived looked out upon the new world and, seeing only a new kind of desert, wept bitterly for their loss. Whispers on the wind say the remnants of the Gerudo became pirates and that their ancestors sometimes still roam the seas continuing the tradition…

While Princess Zelda was busy preparing her people to flee to the mountaintops, The Sage of Light, Rauru, and the King of Hyrule were plotting together for a way to save Hyrule.

"I know my daughter has seen this land covered in darkness in her visions, but I believe we can yet save it should we make a stand. And it is for this that I ask for your help, honored Sage" said the King.

"What would you have me do, Great King?" asked the venerable Sage.

"Though the Sages' seal is fading, we still have the Blade of Evil's Bane and I believe that with the Sages of Earth and Wind praying to keep its power strong, we might use it to slay the King of Evil once again."

"But how, Great King? Only one worthy of the title of Hero of Time may wield the Sacred Blade and he is nowhere to be found!"

"Was it not the Hero of Time's courage in defending Hyrule that allowed him to wield the Sacred Blade? Think you that I have less desire to defend this land than he, honored Sage? Surely I have more desire to see this land prosper than one who has forsaken it! But should my courage prove insufficient, I would ask of you to stay and wield the sacred light arrows alongside me. Between us two, we should have enough wit and mettle to match the Hero himself!"

The Sage of Light was uncertain of the wisdom of such a plan, but he was stout of heart and would not see his friend, the King, die abandoned for his foolish valor. So he agreed to stay with him and fight the King of Evil at his side.

The Princess Zelda tried desperately to make her father see the error of his ways, crying out in anger at his stubbornness "Father, can you not hear the whispers on the wind!? Have you made your ears deaf to the calls of the goddesses!? I have dreamed dreams of the evil that comes and have seen that retreat is the wisest course! This land is already lost!"

But the King would not heed his daughter's words, saying only "Take refuge in the mountains with our people, my dear, should it set your mind at ease. But I shall not forsake this land which is ours by the will of the goddesses."

Plead as she might, the King would hear no more of leaving and grew only more determined as the evil clouds drew nearer and nearer.

When the King of Evil returned, the land became covered in darkness and all who had not fled with the Sages grew fearful and cried out to the goddesses to save them. They tried fleeing to the mountains but many were killed whilst they fled or drowned by the divine rains that had begun to flood the land. Only the King and the Sage of Light remained steadfast, foolishly; and when the King of Evil came for them they were quickly overwhelmed, for the Blade of Evil's Bane did not shine with the power to defeat evil in the hands of the King. Outmatched and seeing the folly of his ways, the King wept and pled with the goddesses to save his kingdom no matter the cost. Amidst the battle, in his heart of hearts the King heard their answer:

"Foolish and proud mortal, you did not heed our warnings and so the end of your reign is just. Take solace that your mistake shall be drowned along with the evil of this land" decreed the Goddess of Power.

"Could you not hear the wisdom in your daughter's words? Had you but listened to her advice you would be spared" decreed the Goddess of Wisdom.

"Misguided child, can you not see that your kingdom is already saved? What is a kingdom if not its people? Had you understood that which your daughter knew you could have left this land behind safely" decreed the Goddess of Courage.

The King knew the truth of their words even before he heard them spoken and was ashamed that he had turned away from what he knew in his heart to be true for so long. In that moment he felt that this was his just reward and mourned that his fate had been made by his own hands. His only regret was that he had brought his miserable fate down upon his friend, as well.

The battle raged on and it soon became clear that the King and the Sage of Light could not win against such a fearsome foe. The King began to falter and fell back, weary, against the Pedestal of Time. But just as Ganon was about to slay the King, the Sage of Light ran between them, taking the Blade of Evil's Bane from the King's grasp and thrusting it into the Pedestal.

Mortally wounded by the blow meant for the King, the Sage of Light used the last of his life to bind his power to the sword and stop time for that place, so that his friend and the land he had fought so hard to protect might not perish, but might one day be revived. The King of Evil roared furiously as the spell took effect and he and his wicked magic were sealed away…for a time. The King of Hyrule had only a brief moment of shock before he, too, was frozen in time by his friend's spell. It is said that the goddesses, moved by the Sage's sacrifice, vowed that when the time came, they would restore the flow of time to the King and thereby honor the dying Sage's wish for his friend to live again.

Meanwhile, the Princess of Destiny watched from the mountaintops along with her people as the land was flooded by the rains. Thinking her father dead, she wept as though her tears were the pouring rains; her grief flowing out as part of the raging torrent. So great was her heartache for the father she'd been unable to save, that the Triforce of Wisdom was cleft in twain to match the brokenness of her heart. Feeling she no longer deserved its power when she could not even save her own father, she cast one of the pieces into the sea, praying that it would reach him in the depths below.

And that is how the era of the kingdom of Hyrule passed away beneath the waves of the Great Sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter so I may edit it in the future. The next chapter is sort of a continuation of this one but I liked it better as a separate chapter, so check it out! As always, if you like it leave a review and lemme know and if you don't, well, you can still leave a review, I guess, as long as you're not a dick about it or anything.


	6. The Origin of the Fishmen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one's kind of a continuation of the previous chapter and takes place during the same time but is way more loosely related to LOZ canon. I always really liked that fish that draws the maps from Wind Waker so one day this idea sort of crept into my head and this chapter was the result.

This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…

Long ago, in the days after the Hero of Time had departed from the land of Hyrule, his labor finished, an evil wind began to blow throughout the land. The whispers on the wind spoke of danger to all who did not leave the land to go and live atop the mountains. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air, having understood the scent of evil on the wind, migrated to the mountaintops long before the rains that would soon flood Hyrule had begun to fall and were saved. But the fish of Lake Hylia had neither limbs nor wings to carry them to safety, and though they knew nothing of the effect that the salty oceans would have on their kind, their instincts told them that to stay would be death. And so the lake fish grew afraid in the dull manner that all beasts understand when they sense death coming for them.

There was, however, one fish who understood fear different from a beast's. This fish feared not only for itself, but for all the fish of Lake Hylia, and vowed he would find a way to save them. So the fish began to learn the language of men, in the hopes of petitioning the king of Hyrule for aid since he knew not how to save them himself. The fish listened intently to the words of the Zoras and slowly grew to understand them. He practiced speaking all day, every day for many months, for his dread grew steadily as the angry clouds came ever closer.

When the fish had learned enough language to speak his piece to the king, he began the treacherous journey to the castle. The fish swam upstream against the current and many times was almost eaten or caught, but he persisted. After many days of hard swimming, the fish finally reached the moat around the castle. After resting for a brief time, the fish began to search for a way to enter the castle's walls and grew discouraged when he could find no such entrance. After much frantic searching, the fish, despairing of finding a way to enter, began to wail when he realized all his effort had come to naught.

"How shall I ever get to see the King when I am but a lowly fish!" he cried.

A passerby heard his cry and looked into the moat where he saw the fish thrashing in the water. Thinking himself mad, the man turned to go when the fish cried out to him, "Stop! You must help me see the King or else my people will surely perish!"

The man could not believe his own eyes and called down to the fish "How can it be that you are a talking fish? Such things do not exist! Tell me, fish, be you apparition or a creature of magic?"

The fish called back "I am but a humble fish! Will you help me, kind stranger? For I know nothing of the ways of men or of magic, but I must see the King and ask his aid lest my people be stricken from the earth! Please tell me, how does one gain an audience with his Highness?"

Feeling mischievous, the stranger concocted a lie with which to discourage the fish and said, "You must pass a test of power, a test of courage, and a test of wisdom, fish. But you cannot even walk and so you cannot enter to try; you would merely flop about on the floor!" At this the stranger began to laugh.

The fish grew silent for a moment. When he spoke, it was with resolve that he said, "Take me to the King and I will try myself against these tests."

The man looked at the fish and said "You will surely die, but I will take you should you wish it," and then gathered him into a bottle.

When the stranger presented the bottle to the King, the King was confused and asked of him, "Herald, why do you bring such a thing to me? Should you not take such a catch to the kitchens?" to which the stranger replied "No, sire, this fish wishes to prove his mettle in three tasks so that he may be deserving of the honor of speaking with the King. He has told me he will prove his strength, his courage, and his wisdom to your Highness should you but set him the tasks."

Before the King could become angry with what he thought a practical joke, the herald uncorked the bottle and the fish cried out eagerly "It is true, Great King, that I will try to prove myself worthy of an audience should you set me any task! Please let me attempt them at least!"

The King, shocked to hear a fish talking, turned to the herald and weakly bade him prepare three tasks for the fish, though he thought it an unusual request for the fish to make since never before had anyone had to prove themselves worthy of an audience in such a way.

The herald, sniggering at having tricked the fish into asking the King to let it prove itself when there was no such need, went away to prepare a task for the fish. While the mischievous herald was gone, the King asked the fish to tell him of his journey and how he had come to learn the language of men, so the fish told him of all that had passed and of his desire to make a request for aid from the King. The King, thunderstruck at the talking fish, listened intently and wondered at the creature before him and how it planned to pass the three tests it had volunteered for.

When the mischievous herald returned he had with him a large rock with a flat bottom, which he placed on the ground before the fish, saying "If you can move this rock you will have proven your power and can move on to the next task. Were you not bragging, fish, that you could move a mountain earlier? Surely a rock is nothing to one such as you."

Of course, the fish had said no such thing, but he had vowed to save his people, so he said nothing to the cruel herald and tipped over his bottle where he began to flap uselessly at the rock, trying to move it. The King, thinking the fish miraculous, waited to see how it would move the rock.

Some time passed while the fish flailed ineffectually, and the herald began to laugh at the fish's efforts. It started to become clear that the fish was struggling, but still he beat himself against the rock, trying to move it even the tiniest bit.

More time passed and the King began to worry for the fish, for it was clear he could not breathe- yet still he threw himself at the rock.

After yet more time had passed, the fish began to gasp and wheeze as he desperately flung himself against the hard stone. The herald no longer laughed, for the fish's struggles were becoming weaker.

Finally, when it appeared that the fish would kill itself if it attempted any further to move the rock, the King could bear to watch the fish's painful struggle no longer and commanded the herald to bring a basin of water. Yet even having heard the king's command, still the fish threw its battered body against the rock with all its puny might. Afraid that the fish might hurt itself further, the King rose from his seat and held the fish in his arms, trying to calm its thrashing body.

The herald returned running, bringing with him a basin of water, and- ashamed at having almost killed the determined creature- he gently took the fish from the king and lowered it into the water. When the fish was back in the water it began to cry tears of shame at its defeat. The unhappy fish despaired of ever being worthy of an audience with the King and was overwhelmed with pity for both himself and his people.

The King, seeing the fish's tears, was moved and began to speak. "I commend you, worthy fish, at having passed your three trials. You have proven your power in coming all this way to meet with me, your wisdom by learning the speech of man, and your courage by facing death for the sake of your people. Speak, noble fish, and tell me what you would have me do. You have earned the right to ask of this King anything it is within my power to give you."

"I am but a lowly fish, Great King, and know not what to ask for my people. I had counted that in your wisdom you might know of a way to aid us when the rains come so that we are not stricken from this earth."

"I know not how to help your people, noble fish. I can see no way to protect you from the rains, nor do I understand why it should be necessary to do so. Do not fish breathe the water as easily as I breathe the air?"

"The wind brings to us whispers of death to all those who stay. I know not why it should be so either, but I trust what the wind tells me and I ask that the King help us find a way to move to the highlands where the land walkers and the birds have all gone."

"Noble fish, I know not of a way to move a lake into the sky. I'm sorry that I cannot help you, but I would counsel you not to worry, for I am in the midst of a plan to save all of Hyrule and put to rights this silly talk of running to the highlands. Stay, noble fish, and I will make you a member of my household. You have accomplished much and it would be my shame to send you home empty handed, but should you wish to return to your people I shall send you home with an escort and pray for your prosperity as long as I live."

The fish thought it foolishness to ignore the whisperings of the wind, and was surprised that such a great man should not know that which even the simplest of beasts understood. But the fish said nothing of this, instead saying, "If you in your great wisdom know not how to help my people, then I ask only that you should pray to the goddesses on our behalf. Surely they would not listen to the prayers of a lowly fish, but the prayers of a King might do some good. I beg of you, Great King, please ask the Golden Sisters to spare my people!"

The King looked at the fish and said, "You have proven yourself to be a powerful, wise, and courageous fish; such that the goddesses are sure to listen should you ask them yourself. Have you not after all learned to speak the language of men? Ask of them what you wish, worthy fish. They are sure to answer."

The fish balked at such an answer- how could the goddesses hear the prayers of a fish? But nonetheless he hesitantly began to speak, saying, "Though I am naught but a lowly fish, I beseech Thee, The Golden Three, to spare my people death from the rains. I ask only that you might grant us the power, the wisdom, and the courage to survive whatever the rains may bring."

No sooner had the fish finished speaking than he began to transform: She of the Flaming Arms bestowed upon him and his ilk the power to survive in both the salty waters of the ocean and the pure waters of Lake Hylia. She of the Wise Heart gave to every fish in the lake the wisdom of man, so that they were made in their savior's likeness and could speak the language of man as he did. She of the Wild Soul looked down upon her creation and laughed, declaring that there was nothing she could give to him that he did not already have on his own, and simply blessed the fish with a holy kiss blown to him on the breeze.

Such was the origin of the Fishmen.

The First Fishman returned to his people and when the rains came they were saved by the gifts he had won for them all and prospered in the new world. It is said that when the rains had finished, the First Fishman met his friend the King once more, and as thanks for giving him the confidence to speak for himself, he taught a boat the hard-gotten secrets of the language of men that he had learned so long ago. Some say his descendants still speak of their debt to the King to this very day…. But that is nothing more than the whispers of the wind.


	7. The Origin of the Oocca

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly because I love the idea of the Oocca as being this sort of cosmic joke. I mean, can we talk about how hilarious they look? I dunno why I ended up making Nayru into such a hard-ass (probably because it's a lot funnier to see someone who takes themselves super seriously screw up) but whatevah. It's my fanfic I do what I want.

Long ago, when time was just beginning, before the goddesses had yet returned to the heavens since the creation of the world, the Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru, quarreled with her sister, Farore.

“Why do you take such delight in these foolish beings?” asked Nayru, watching her sister coo at one of her newly made creations that was already attempting to subvert the spirit of the law.

Farore only laughed and asked in return “Why do you take so little delight in these foolish beings?” and continued to watch the errant creature make mischief.

Nayru grew frustrated watching the silliness of some of the creatures her Sister had created and blamed their foolishness on her Sister’s wild nature. So Nayru thought to herself “Why should I not create a more dignified race of beings who will be worthy of the wisdom I have poured into this world?” and decided to do so.

And so Nayru began to create a race of beings that would be capable of great wisdom, and gave to them knowledge of magic and technology and all manner of things far greater than what the other beings of the world had. Nayru looked at her work and was pleased, for she had given these beings a wise countenance worthy of their great minds.

She brought her creation to her Sister, Din, and said “Is this not a most worthy being I have made? It has the noblest and wisest mind in all the world!”

Din looked upon her Sister’s creation and began to laugh so hard that the earth shook and the sky thundered with the tremors of her laughter.

“It’s just a head! Dear Sister your creation may have a noble mind but that is certainly all it has!”

Offended at her Sister’s laughter, Nayru decided to give the creatures more substantial bodies and set to work on their creation.

Many days passed and Nayru could not manage to create anything more than heads. The heads contained the most superb minds in all of creation but she could not manage to conceive of a body fitting for them. She tried molding different bodies from clay, carving them from wood and stone, she even tried to form some from clouds and water but every attempt made Din laugh all the harder.

Frustrated, Nayru decided to cheat and take some inspiration from the beings her Sister, Farore, had created.

Nayru looked upon the creatures of the world and said to herself, “The Gorons are a sturdy people! I shall give to my children the bodies of Gorons!”

And so Nayru tried to fashion bodies similar to the rock-solid flesh of the Gorons. But she could not.

“Perhaps my children cannot be so sturdy. Yet looking upon the wild beauty of the stallion, I have decided I desire more elegant bodies for my children!”

And so Nayru tried to fashion for them the body of a horse, but she could not.

“Perhaps I shall make something less complex? The dog is a most loyal creature and is beloved by all. I shall give to my children the form of the dog!”

Yet still, Nayru could not imitate the form of the dog.

Growing angry, Nayru looked through all the creatures of the world and tried to make bodies for her children based off of every last one. Yet she could not imitate her Sister’s creations at all. 

Finally, Nayru came to the only creature whose body she had not tried to fashion, for she found it to be the most silly and undignified of all: the cucco. Nayru set to work and tried to create the body of the cucco and found that, lo, she could indeed create something very like it!

After much hard work, Nayru had fashioned bodies for all of her children and brought them, once again, before her Sister Din.

“Dare you to laugh at this noble creature and its fine body? I have at last finished the wise and mighty Oocca!”

Upon seeing her Sister’s creations, Din laughed so uproariously that the mountains themselves shook and the seas crashed against the shore and all the creatures in the world were afraid at the thunderous roaring of the skies.

Hearing the commotion, Farore came to the field where Din was laughing and asked “Sister, what is the cause of your laughter? I would know so that I may share in your joy!”

Din, incapable of speaking for her laughter, pointed at the Oocca Nayru had created.

Farore laughed delightedly and said “Sister, I did not know you could create such marvelous beings!”

Nayru, thinking she was being mocked, tried to hide the Oocca from Farore. And so, embarrassed of her children, she made for them a city in the sky where she hid them among the clouds.

Farore stopped laughing and said to her Sister “Why did you send them away? They were such wonderful mistakes!”

Nayru grew indignant on behalf of her children and yelled at Farore “Mistakes!? The Oocca are more brilliant than all of your silly creations could ever hope to be and I delight in having made them!”

Farore laughed again and said with a knowing grin, “It would seem, then, that you have finally learned how to take delight in foolish creatures, Sister!”

Nayru was stunned for a moment and said nothing. Then she laughed, too, and said “I think my children would get along well with yours. The Oocca will know how to return to the earth if they should wish to. Perhaps our ‘mistakes’ could be friendly to each other.”

Din, who had finally composed herself, looked between her Sisters and said simply, “I am glad I simply had to create the earth and the seas and the sky!” 

And that is how the Sky Beings came to be.

It is said that, using their great knowledge, the Oocca were able to create powerful artifacts to give life to machines and statues so that they might do the work their frail bodies could not. Thusly, did they create a path between their city and Hyrule. But that is only the whisperings of Gossip Stones…


	8. The Spider's Curse

Long ago, at the Dawn of the Age of Man, all the beasts gathered together to discuss their unhappiness with their neighbor, Man.

“Man has grown lazy!” grumbled Bear. “I saw him riding Horse one day when his legs grew tired and could no longer carry him. Horse, being neighborly, agreed to take him home; but I have seen Horse carrying him from place to place many times since. I have even seen Horse, and sometimes Ox, plowing his fields for him of late!”

“Man has grown selfish!” croaked Frog. “Cow gave him her milk once and now he keeps her in a pen and takes her milk without asking whenever he grows thirsty! Cow does not complain and I do not understand. How can she bear his thanklessness?” he pondered.

“Man has grown arrogant!” howled Wolf. “Brother Dog will no longer run free in the forest with me ever since Man taught him subservience! My brother has been seduced by Man and now spends all his days sitting at Man’s feet, fetching for him and herding other animals. Man has turned him against us!”

Wolf was very distraught, and at the end of his tale there was much murmuring among the animals.

At this moment, Man was walking by and stopped to talk to the animals.

“Hello, Beaver!” he called. “Can you cut some logs for me, again? You can eat the scraps at the end so long as you save the best logs for me.”

The others looked at Beaver, who grew sheepish and ran off in the direction Man had come from.

“Oho! Man has dominion over all the animals!” crowed Man happily. “Well Cucco. How about it? Will you give to me your eggs, if I give to you some seed?”

Cucco turned to the other animals, puffing out her chest, “I will trade with Man! For he has hands to plant with and makes delicious seeds grow. Things will go much quicker with Man than if I have to search for seeds on my own!” Then Cucco turned and ran off in the direction Man had come from.

Looking pleased with himself, Man puffed out his chest as though he were a Cucco, himself, and said, “Man is the master of all nature! He grows the plants and makes the animals work for him! Will you hunt with me Wolf? I will share with you a warm bed if you will give me part of your kill! Would you not like to be part of your brother’s pack once again?”

Wolf growled at Man and said, “Be gone, ungrateful beast! You would be nothing without the help of our comrades!”

Seeing that Wolf would not be tamed, The Goddess Farore looked upon him with special favor and kept him dear to her heart.

But Man did not know this and merely smiled and left, singing of his own greatness. “Man makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall! He owns the animals one and all!” he sang.

 

When Man was gone, Snake cried out, “We must do something before Man comes to tame us all!”

“Man asked me to carry a message for him, and I thought nothing of it, for he gave me a tasty mouse! Have I become tame?” asked Hawk, in a panic.

“Rabbit went to steal a cabbage from Man and Cat chased her away. Has Cat turned against us, too?” asked Turtle.

The animals began to grow nervous and so became unruly, braying and kicking and cawing and digging and making all manner of commotion until Clever Spider spoke up.

“Let me challenge Man to a contest” said she. “If I win, he must be grateful for any help he receives from any creature for the rest of his life and must never again brag about his prowess over nature.”

“But what will we give Man if we lose?” asked Tiger.

“We will admit that Man has dominion over all the animals and serve him whenever he should call us.”

“I do not like this plan” said Monkey. “How will you defeat Man in a contest? You are not so clever as all that.”

So Spider gathered them together and shared with them her plan, to which they all agreed.

 

The next day, Spider went to Man’s house and challenged him to a swimming contest and told him the terms of the arrangement. Man, thinking there was no way he could lose, agreed.

“We will race to the island in the middle of the lake. The first one to reach it wins” said Spider.

Man agreed and, on Owl’s count of three, began to swim towards the island. Man did not go very quickly because he did not see how Spider could swim faster than he, so he lazily drifted for a few moments before looking back to see where Spider was. Man was greatly surprised when he saw that Spider had not entered the water, but was, instead, hopping across its surface as easily as if she were a Tektite! Man was shocked and began to swim faster, but it was no use. Spider easily outmatched him.

 

Man was very angry when he arrived at the island and yelled out “You cheated!” to Spider.

“I borrowed Tektite’s legs for this race. Did you not think it strange I had four new legs?” said Spider.

And as surely as she had said, Man looked where he had not paid attention before and saw that Spider now had eight legs and Tektite only four.

“I did not look to see how many legs you had, for I was distracted looking into your many new eyes!” said Man.

“I borrowed one eye from Tektite, one from Gohma, two from Mole, and two from Deku Baba” replied Spider.

Man looked and saw that Tektite and Gohma only had one eye each, now, and Mole and Deku Baba no longer had any. Spider, however, was very distracting with her eight mismatched eyes.

“But you did not win on your own! You had help from the other animals!” replied Man.

“Just as you had help from Horse and Ox to plow your fields, and Dog to fetch your things, and Cucco to lay your eggs, and Beaver to fell your logs. Therefore, be humble, Man; and accept your loss” said Spider.

“I will not!” cried Man. Man turned very red and continued to rage, stamping his feet and shouting at the Heavens, “I make the rain to fall and the sun to shine! The animals, earth, and sky are mine!”

Man’s shouting grew so loud that the wind carried it all the way to the Goddess Din, herself. When Din heard Man’s arrogant statement, her hair flamed in anger and the skies rumbled with thunder. She sent to the earth a Golden Spider in her place, saying “As one who has dominion over nature, I shall give to Spider dominion over that which has always held most sway over the hearts of Men.”

So saying, Din gave to Spider provenance over Man’s wealth; and as it was done, so did the Golden Spider whisper knowledge of a curse with which to punish Man into Spider’s ear. After telling Spider of the curse, the Golden Spider became mist and dissipated into the air.

With Din’s blessing, Spider said to Man, “As Man is ruled by gold, so shall he be cursed by gold.  I will watch with my many eyes your actions, Man. And if I see in you arrogance and greed, I will curse you with the power of the Goddess Din. Beware the Spider’s Curse, O Man! And beware my many eyes which judge your actions, and my many legs that carry out justice.”

So saying, Spider grew very large, indeed, and painted the symbol of Man’s doom upon her back so that all would know she held dominion over Man’s fortune.

 

That is why, to this day, it is unwise to boast or be ungrateful in the presence of a spider. For the Skulltula was given dominion over man’s fortune and her many eyes are always watching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has very little to do with canon content, I'll admit. It's sort of like the chapter about the fishmen in that way. Lemme know what you thought in the comments!


	9. Death's Hands

Have you heard the story of how the great Sheikah leader, Izpa, befriended death?

Long ago, in the Era of Prosperity, Hyrule flourished under the reign of the Royal Family and grew so prosperous that Death himself grew jealous of the people of Hyrule. So peaceful and content were the Hylians that they scorned death and cried, “Death has no place here! May the Goddesses drive him out of this sacred place! Death shall play no part in our joy, for he brings ruin and sorrow to all!”

Feeling outcast and wanting to share in their prosperity but being unable to do so, Death, in a fit of jealousy, began to take souls before their time.

The people grew alarmed as their numbers dwindled rapidly and without any apparent cause. The affliction seemed to spare none: young and old, sick and healthy, guilty and innocent were all struck down at random by Death’s greedy hands. This rash of sudden deaths made the people very afraid. They searched high and low for a reason for the many deaths but could find none. Some feared it was a strange illness, and shut themselves away to try and protect themselves. Others believed it was a curse, and relied on talismans and superstition to keep them safe. Many simply lost the will to live in the face of such cruel and indiscriminate bereavement and carried on as lifelessly as those who had fallen victim to Death’s caprice.

Among the frightened, the Sheikah alone remained undaunted. As creatures of shadow, it was their habit to look upon death without fear. Many devotees of the Truth looked upon death as an immutable truth, for it is inescapable for all mortal beings. As such, the Sheikah were accustomed to thinking of death’s caprice as yet another facet of their beloved Truth and continued to live on as always amidst its presence.

The Sheikah leader, Izpa, saw the devastation that Death wreaked among the land and sought him out. Izpa knew not how to reach Death, though, and so she resolved to summon him by setting herself outside his door in the only way she knew how.

Izpa found a tranquil fairy fountain hidden beneath a ring of stones and sat down just outside its waters. She then drank from a vial of purple chu jelly and waited for its effects to set in.

 

Soon Izpa began to feel lightheaded and faint, yet she did not enter the fountain.

 

She felt her strength leaving her and her breathing become shallow, yet still she did not enter the fountain.

 

When at last her vision grew blurry and her heartbeat faint, she found herself outside of Death’s door and knocked with all her strength before dragging herself forward into the fairy fountain where she fell unconscious.

 

When Izpa awoke, she was not alone. The fairies were gone, having healed her wounds, and in their place was Death, sitting across from her, so still that the very air around him seemed tempestuous in comparison.

Izpa went and sat next to Death and asked him, “O Death, why have you sown such sorrowful seeds of late? If you continue on as you are now there will soon be nothing left to reap!”

“Why did you knock upon my door, Izpa? There are few who would come to me willingly, least of all the great leader of the Sheikah” asked Death in return.

“I came to ask you why you have decided to take so many so quickly. I do not question the necessity of your duty, only the fervor with which you have performed it of late. It is spreading fear to all who yet live; so much so that they act as though they are already among the dead” said she.

“It is their fear that betrays them. The more they let their fear rule them, the more they shorten their tether to this life and the quicker I am drawn to them. What began as an act of jealousy has become a plague of fear of which I am the cause, but for which I have no cure.”

“Can you not cease your reaping long enough for the people to recover?” asked Izpa.

“I may choose to take life when I will, but I cannot choose to give it, for it is not mine to give” answered Death.

“Who, then, must I seek out to put things right?”

“Seek the Fairy Queen. It is said that her tears can heal not only ailments of the body, but also ailments of the soul. If there is anyone who can heal this land, surely it is she.”

So Izpa set out to search for the Fairy Queen, who was rumored to live in an oasis deep in the desert.

After many days of relentless travel under the hot sun, Izpa began to fear she would never find the Fairy Queen, for the desert seemed to have no end. She sat, exhausted, upon a rock and looked about her, but saw only sand in every direction. Afraid she would die of thirst without ever having set things right, Izpa shed a tear which landed upon the rock on which she had been sitting. No sooner had the tear touched the rock’s surface than the rock began to shake violently. Izpa jumped from the rock, which was slowly sinking beneath the surface of the sand. When at last the rock disappeared, Izpa looked at the place where it had been and saw that there was a deep hole in the sand. She peered into its depths but could see nothing. She took off one of her earrings and dropped it into the hole, but did not hear it land. Resolving that she would be no worse off than she was stranded in the middle of the desert no matter what lay below, she dropped down into the hole.

She fell for what seemed like hours on end. She thought she heard in the darkness the sounds of many beasts, but could see nothing at all through the pitch black. Eventually, her descent slowed and she saw beneath her a bright light. Landing gently, she found herself standing before the most beautiful woman she had ever beheld.

The fairy had wings of gossamer and long, green hair which wrapped around her as though it were a dress of the finest silk. Light radiated from around her and her face was full of youthful vibrancy, though her eyes betrayed a wisdom beyond her seeming years. She floated gracefully above a pool of water so pure that Izpa at first mistook it for crystal, and her smile was full of such joy that Izpa was brought to tears by the sight of it.

Izpa knelt before the Fairy Queen and said “O Great Lady, I have come to seek your aid at the behest of Death, himself, who has set upon us a curse he knows not how to stop. Though his intent was ill, he has since repented of his actions; yet the people have grown so afraid that they draw him near whether he wills it or no. It is said that your tears can heal even fear, Great Lady. Is there no way you could help us be freed from this plague?”

The Fairy Queen smiled down upon Izpa kindly and replied “I greatly desire to help the people of the land, but I know very little of sorrow. You must help me to find a way to cry so that the people can be healed.”

So Izpa told the following tale to the Fairy Queen:

 

“Once upon a time, before there was even a moon in the sky, there lived a very kind giant who was the only one of his kind. The giant lived in a dark cave high on a mountain because he could not stand to be in the light, so he was very lonely because all of the other creatures loved the light very much. They would play in the daylight, but when night came, they would hide in fear of the pitch darkness it brought. The giant was the only one who found the night soothing and could walk without fear in the dark, and so he was feared as a demon by all of the other creatures who did not understand this. They told nasty stories about the giant and bade their children stay far away from the strange giant who could not abide the light. So the giant sadly watched the people from afar and wished in vain that he could have a friend to make his loneliness more bearable.

One day, a little boy chased a rabbit up the mountain and grew terribly lost. The little boy could not find his way back in the dark, so he sat down and started to cry. The little boy was near the cave of the giant, who heard the boy crying. So the giant called out to the boy, saying “Do not cry, you may stay inside of my cave until morning if you like. No creature will harm you if you are in my cave, for none of the light-dwellers will come near it.”

So the little boy went into the cave and passed the night talking to the kind giant. The next morning, the little boy said goodbye to his new friend and descended the mountain on his way home. When the boy arrived home, his parents were so relieved they fell to their knees and wept, for they feared he had been eaten by wild animals or carried off by bandits.

When the little boy told his parents what had happened they grew very afraid and told the boy never to visit the giant again because he would not go into the light as was proper and good. The boy did not understand why his parents were so afraid, and so he did not listen to them and vowed to return to the cave the next night to thank the giant. The little boy was not so afraid of the dark anymore since he had stayed in the darkness of the cave and come out unharmed; So that night he snuck out and climbed the mountain in the dark, unafraid.

When the boy came to the giant’s cave, the giant cheered for joy! He had finally found a friend. The boy thanked the giant for his help and asked him if he were a bad giant since he would not play in the light like everyone else.

The giant grew sad and said “I do not think I am a bad giant. Not yet. But I am a lonely giant because I cannot go into the light and that sometimes makes me sad and angry.”

“Well I will visit you here so that you do not have to go out into the light” said the little boy.

“Thank you, friend. You are very kind. But won’t that be a burden to you? I would rather be alone than make you carry my burden for me.”

“That is a very silly way to think,” said the boy. “What is the point of having a friend if you cannot share your burdens? Should I ever have a burden, you may help me carry it to repay me, giant.”

“I feel much better knowing that I can repay you, now” said the giant.

And so the giant and the boy passed many hours together over the years, always in secret, until the boy was a boy no longer, for he had grown into a man.

One day, the man came to his friend the giant with a happy smile stretched across his face that the giant had never seen before.

“What makes you so happy today, friend?” asked the giant.

“I have met the most wonderful woman in the world! She is everything I could ask for and I want you to meet her, old friend. I have brought her with me to see you tonight!” said the man; and so saying his lover walked cautiously up to the mouth of the cave and introduced herself to the giant, for she was still nervous of the “demon” of the cave, even though she knew him to be a friend of her lover.

The giant, his friend, and his friend’s lover all passed the day pleasantly enough- but there were jokes between the lovers that the giant could not understand, and they spoke often of the world beyond the cave, of which the giant had no knowledge and could not join in.

After the man and his lover left, the giant, left alone to his thoughts, grew troubled. His mind circled around a lingering worry that had always been with him and that the days’ events had caused to grow. The giant grew afraid that his friend would soon forget about him and leave him alone once again, now that he had found a new companion.

Later that night, when the giant went to sleep, his fear grew so great that his worries became terrible nightmares, which, in turn, grew into hideous monsters that prowled the night.

The giant knew nothing of what his worry had spawned, though he slept fitfully; and while he slept, the monsters roamed, in search of prey.

In the morning, the people woke to find that much mayhem had been caused during the night, but none would confess to being the culprit.

“It was the demon of the cave!” cried one villager.

“Yes, no one else dares walk the night- it must be so!” cried another.

“Perhaps he is revenging himself upon us because we have shunned him. Well, he shall find we are not so scared of him as to be swayed!” said the village leader.

The man heard the cries of the villagers and went to his friend, the giant, to see if he had done these things.

But on the way to the giant’s cave, the man was attacked by a wandering nightmare, suffering in the daylight and grown violent from the pain. The man struggled against the nightmare but was no match for its blind fury and was killed.

The giant waited for him for many days, and with each day that he did not hear from his friend his worries grew greater and his dreams more disturbed. His anxieties became vicious creatures that prowled the night and made it unsafe for all. Many people died, and their sorrow was great, for they were no match for the creatures spawned by the giant’s troubles.

Finally, when they could withstand no more, the people called out to the sun, begging him to punish the giant for setting the creatures on them; and though the giant knew nothing of the monsters he had created while asleep, the sun agreed that something must be done. So he set the giant on a rock in the heavens, where he could watch the havoc wreaked across the world by the monsters he had created.

Seeing what he had caused, the giant was struck with guilt and cried bitter tears which rained down upon the earth. He searched the world for his friend and when he could not find him he surmised what had happened. The giant wept and knew he must somehow find a way to make things right.

So the giant called out to his friend’s lover, and bade her talk to the sun on his behalf. He asked her to see if the sun could shine some of his light on him, so that he could scare away the monsters in the night, while the sun slept. The woman asked him worriedly, “But wouldn’t that hurt you terribly?”

And the giant replied, “Yes, but I will protect you and those he held dear since he can no longer do so. It is right that I should carry his burden now, as he carried mine for so long.”

So the woman went and told the sun of the giant’s request and the sun agreed to give the giant some of his light.

This is why each night when the moon comes out, you can see his scary face, which is meant to scare away the monsters that yet linger, so that he might protect the people of this earth. And even though he is in pain, the man in the moon rises every night without fail in order to fulfill his friends’ wishes, eternally sacrificing himself in lonely remembrance of his only friend.”

 

When Izpa had finished her tale, she saw that a single tear had fallen from the Fairy Queen’s gem-bright eyes. When the tear struck the ground, Izpa heard from above the sound of a torrential rain.

The Fairy Queen turned to Izpa and said “Thank you for helping me to cry. I think I understand a little of sorrow now. Farewell, Great Izpa, and may you prosper all your days,” and so saying, returned Izpa to the land above where she could witness the cleansing rains.

When the rain stopped, Izpa looked out over the land, sparkling with dew, and felt a presence beside her.

“Thank you for righting my foolish mistake. I shall never again let spite rule my actions” said Death.

“You are long-lived and unwelcome to most, it must be very lonely for you” said Izpa.

“I will outlive all things. I will outlive even you, Great Izpa, and one day I will come for you, too. I will be very lonely once the only human to have ever met me and lived is gone” replied Death.

“We are friends and will meet as such on the day you come to accompany me on my way. But I worry that you will once again grow lonely and spiteful when I am gone. So I will build a house for you, friend. And in this House of the Dead you will always be welcome”

“Thank you, Great Izpa, but I, too, worry that I will succumb to despair and anger even should you build me a place to call home. I must ask of you one more favor to ensure that I never again abuse my power; Please, cut from my heart all of the jealousy and spite that resides there” and so saying, he gave to Izpa a sword as black as night and bared to her his heart.

Izpa took the sword and cut out all of the jealousy and spite in Death’s heart, and when she was done she flung the pieces to the far corners of the world. But Death is eternal, and so the pieces did not disappear, but still wander the Earth in the form of monsters. The Hands of Death are deadly to all living creatures, for they were born from Death’s envy of the living and so they greedily seek out lives to take.

Beware the Wallmaster and the Dead Hand for they are the incarnations of Death himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this one languishing in the depths of my computer for a while now, so thanks to AerynB for inspiring me to finally finish it and get it posted! Once again this one's not super tied in to canon material, however, if anyone's reading "The Interloper War" alongside this, the events of this chapter may or may not be loosely related to some of the things that happen further down the road in that one. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated- much love to all of you who keep me writing!


	10. The Gerudo's Curse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wondered about the weird quirk of biology that made the Gerudo only able to give birth to a male every one hundred years, so this was my weird attempt at fusing skyward sword canon with my own headcanon about the Gerudo. I know there's probably some logic errors in this one what with the messing around with time business, but it's meant to be a myth and myths are full of those so whatevs. As always, comments and kudos are always appreciated so speak up if you like what you read!

Have you ever heard the story of how the Goddess Din fell in love with a mortal?

Once, in the annals of time immemorial, Gerudo men were as plentiful as the sand of the desert. One such man, the great general Farondorf- a man with both strength of heart and mind, and a powerful warrior- caught the eye of the Goddess Din.

Farondorf had saved the life of the Gerudo Princess from an assassin as a youth and since that time had become her most trusted bodyguard; and in time, when she became Queen, he became her most trusted general, where his bravery and wisdom in battle distinguished him from all other men. Indeed, he so distinguished himself as an honorable man that he was desired by many women throughout the land, including the Goddess Din, herself. Knowing the Goddess Din to be a jealous lover, the general devoted himself to the Golden Goddess solely and in return she blessed him with many victories against his enemies; such that all who came against the Gerudo were beaten back by Farondorf the Undefeated and his army.

The Queen of the Gerudo, Aveilah, had a keen eye and saw that her general was beloved of the Goddess Din, so she sought to use his blessings to her kingdom’s advantage.

In those days the Gerudo were besieged on all sides by enemies, for they lived in a prosperous land near a vast sea. The Queen saw a way to vanquish her enemies in one fell swoop and began to provoke the neighboring armies saying, “Who among you dares to challenge the Undefeated? If you cannot defend your lands against him I will come and take them from you with the blessing of the Goddess!”

Afraid for their lands, the neighboring armies decided to unite against the Gerudo, and marched against them as one.

The general, who was a peace-loving man at heart, grew afraid when he saw the mighty army before him, and begged his queen to stop her boasting, knowing that winning against such an army would cost the lives of many even should they triumph.

The queen grew angry and berated her general, saying, “Have you no faith in your Goddess’ might? She of the Flaming Arms would scorn such weakness. You love not your country if you will not use your talents in the art of war to protect it. Tell your Goddess that if she truly loves you she will help you to win this war and protect your people.”

After hearing his queen’s harsh words the general felt ashamed. He called out to the Goddess Din, saying “My queen has chosen to fight a foolish battle and I would not abuse your gifts but for the fact that I love my country and its people. I see no way to win this war if you abandon me now; please, if you love me, tell me how I may win this war.”

The Goddess Din knew that the foolish queen was testing her power, but such was her love for Farondorf that she whispered to him the forbidden secrets of time, and bade him use this knowledge only for good.

When the Goddess impressed upon him the dangers of misusing this power, Farondorf began to fear what would happen should he change the past. What if he altered the past so much so that he could no longer recognize the present? He had no desire to change the history of the world; he only desired to ensure that his people might have a future. So, fearing that he might destroy the present he so loved should he meddle in the affairs of the past, Farondorf instead looked to the future for the answer to his problem.

Farondorf used the secrets of time taught to him by the Goddess Din to travel far, far into the future. None alive know what exactly Farondorf found there; for he never told anyone of what he saw and only said that he did not understand most of it and was frightened by much of it. The people were in awe of what the general found in the future, for if it frightened a man such as the general, what could possibly stand against its power?

The remnants of that foreign time that he brought back with him were so fantastic as to be unbelievable to all, for Farondorf had brought back with him an army of mechanical men! Such a thing had never been seen before, nor has their like ever been seen again, since the golden age of the Gerudo. With the mechanical men on their side, the Gerudo easily defeated their enemies and Queen Aveilah ruled over them with a firm hand. The mechanical men became servants to the Gerudo, as it was their purpose in life to serve, and so, for a time, did the Gerudo become the most powerful empire in the world.

Queen Aveilah’s reign was marked by excess in all things: wealth, resources, technology, and a slavish labor force who could not help but be delighted with their servitude. With the mechanical men to do everything for them, the Gerudo grew lazy and complacent. They forgot what it was to want for anything and so began to consume their resources at an alarming rate. The mechanical men had given them technology beyond anything they had imagined, but they needed more energy to power this technology than they could obtain from their homeland. And so they took the resources they needed to live in luxury from their conquered neighbors and left their lands desolate.

When they had used up all of their neighbors’ resources, they went forth to conquer more lands so that they would not have to conserve the energy they had obtained. Other lands tried to defend against them but they, too, were outmatched by the technology from the future. Many of these peoples tried to take the secrets of the Gerudo technology for themselves by force and, thusly, did war rage ceaselessly throughout the land.

Farondorf wept when he saw the devastation his actions had inadvertently caused. “Though our technology has grown great, our hearts have not grown with it. I must undo what I have done!” he cried.

So with the help of the mechanical men, Farondorf built a gateway to the past, where he hoped to put things right somehow.

But while Farondorf waded through the past, trying to fix what had gone wrong, many others stumbled upon the gateway he had left behind. Unbeknownst to him, many Gerudo and foreigners alike entered the gateway in an effort to escape the present, where resources dwindled and war raged on.

When the people began to flee, the Queen, fearing that the people would take the robots with them into the past and rob her of her advantage, ordered the robots to remain with her in the present, to continue to serve as her army of slaves.

When Farondorf returned, to see if his meddling had created a different future, he found fewer people than robots, such that the present resembled a ghost town. Meanwhile, the influx of people into the past only served to make the present as desolate as ever, as they used up the resources that were to have been theirs in the present in the past.

Thusly, Farondorf did not understand why no matter what he did, every time he returned to the present to see if he had succeeded, things remained the same. He hardly recognized the wasteland the present had become, and so he continued to go back over and over again, further each time, to try and stop the land’s deterioration, but he was powerless to do so as more and more people entered the gateway to the past only to recreate the mistakes of the present there.

While Farondorf looped through time, over and over again, trying to fix his mistakes, he grew older and more desperate. When at last he had become an old man, he resolved to do what he knew had to be done to stop any of it from ever happening.

So, though it pained him greatly, he broke his vow of loyalty to the Queen and went into the past to kill her and end her reign before it could ever ruin the country.

But alas! When Farondorf arrived in the past, just as he was about to complete his mission, a young man dealt him a fierce blow to the head and he died, stricken, gazing up at his own young face.

When the Goddess Din saw what happened, she flamed with rage and swore revenge against the foolish Queen whose actions had begun the spiral which killed her lover.

The Goddess used the searing flames of her anger to scorch the once-prosperous land, so that it became an endless desert. Then she laid a curse on the Gerudo Queen and all of her descendants that would take their men from them, as the Queen had taken hers. Thusly did she make the Queen and her descendants unable to bear sons for the rest of time, except for once every hundred years, when a son would be born to the Gerudo that would be, in truth, her own son in spirit, and would rule over them as King.

The Gerudo Empire fell with the destruction of their home, and the Goddess sealed the gate Farondorf had opened so that they had nowhere to run. In time, the great cities were reduced to rubble and the mechanical men to heaps of scrap metal.

One day, a man from the past would arrive to find these relics and would awaken them once more using the secrets of time bequeathed to him by a Goddess. This man would take them back with him to his own time, where they would serve a corrupt empire until they were once more destroyed by the ravages of time, in an unforgiving cycle.

Thus did the Goddess Din end the reign of the Gerudo and their mechanical men beneath the desert sands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this brings us to the last chapter of Lost Sheikah Legends, friends! I may add more if I come up with something later, but this was as far as I'd planned ahead for this particular fic. Not to worry, though, because the creature compendium is still underway and once that's finished (technically I already have the whole thing written- it just needs some serious editing), The Interloper War and a fic I've had sitting in my computer for years about the fall of Ikana will be my next projects. This is by far my favorite fic I've written and definitely the one I've put the most time into so it's a little bittersweet to see it end, but I'm not done w/ the loz fandom just yet so keep an eye out for my upcoming works if you enjoyed this one! I'd love to hear your thoughts!


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